Are you a driver or a passenger?

How can you ‘drive’ sales!? A famous novelist once said that ‘everyone lives by selling something’. Across the world, due to the coronavirus pandemic and other acute challenges, many not for profits that carry out excellent work are struggling to maintain income streams.

As so many discussions with potential and existing funders are online, we found a recent webinar about ‘selling in a virtual world’ interesting. It addresses how to prepare for, deliver and follow up online interactions in ways that are meaningful and memorable. To learn more click here

Have you made your Commitment? The Commitment is an organisation being incubated within Caplor Horizons. It sets out to demonstrate to politicians in the UK that the public want to actively fight climate change 
 
To find out more, visit the website of The Commitment by clicking on the image below 

We want to say a big thank you to our Advisors, Deven (Thakkar) and Tom (Stokes) as well as everyone else involved with ‘The Great Collaboration’ project. The intention of this UK based initiative is to support communities to adopt sustainable lifestyles.

Greater collaboration is vital, including taking into account that 74% of UK Councils have declared a ‘Climate Emergency’. The platform is scheduled to launch in the New Year.

Wangari Maathai quote: ‘In the course of history there comes a time when humanity is called to shift to a new level of consciousness; to reach a higher moral ground; a time when we have to shed our fear and give hope to each other; that time is now.’

Have a great day!

Ellie, Rosie, Lorna and Ian

The case for 'Building Back Better'

Covid-19 is exacerbating inequalities, including those surrounding mental health. A recent paper highlights that rates of distress and mental conditions have substantially increased globally. It emphasises the importance of integrating mental health in Covid-19 responses and therefore ‘Building Back Better’. To learn more click here.

Since increased uncertainties, we have been delivering our new programme called, ‘Reaching New Horizons’. This is a three-part online programme to address: (1) What have we learnt? (2) What are our ‘new horizons’? and (3) How will we get there? To read more about the programme click here or contact us to learn more.

We’ve just started a ‘Reaching New Horizons’ programme with Haygrove – an international horticultural organisation. The online sessions have involved around 26 people from at least 10 different countries. As with other organisations, we’ve adapted the basic ‘Reaching New Horizons’ programme with Haygrove so that it is aligned to the specific challenges and opportunities they face.

Maria Robinson quote: ‘Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending’

Have a great day!

Ellie, Rosie, Lorna and Ian

Why is it the 'century of leadership'?

We believe that everyone is a leader. And that leadership has never been more important in our world. An article prepared for the upcoming 'Drucker Forum' is interesting. It is titled 'Proclaiming the Century of Leadership'. It describes how 'this is a century in which the metaphor of the perfect storm is constantly invoked' and set out the vital importance of leadership. Click here to read more.

Many thanks to everyone who joined our webinar to launch our ebook last week. We had 66 people registered from 9 different countries. You can watch the recording here. For those who would like to read or share the book with others, you can access it by clicking on the image below.

We've just started contributing to the important work of Refugee Action. Refugee Action helps refugees and people seeking asylum to rebuild their lives in the UK. Our facilitation with an 'Experts by Experience' group focuses on team development and effective governance.

Charles Handy quote: 'People need leadership. Things need management. It is dangerous to get it the other way round'

Have a great day!

Ellie, Rosie, Lorna and Ian

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together

Future leaders will need to be compassionate, emotionally intelligent and collaborative! This is something we passionately believe in and is supported by Marian Temmen. Leading in this new reality demands tolerance, respect, collaboration, persistence, and humility. To read more on this topic, read our new book about a change maker's guide to new horizons!

We recently updated our ‘Essentials of Collaboration’ paper. Click here to read in English; here in French; here in Spanish. You’re very welcome to share resources like this with anyone that you think might benefit from them.

What is ‘The Great Collaboration’? We are based in Herefordshire close to the Wales/England border. We are delighted to be involved in a new collaborative initiative addressing the climate change crisis. It is called: ‘The Great Collaboration’. This already involves 10 stakeholders working together. The initiative focuses on accelerating change through engaging people at a local ‘parish’ level. Watch this space to learn more.

Join the party? Still time to sign up for our virtual book launch. This will be held later this week on Friday (2nd October) from 12 to 1:30pm BST/UK time. It would be great to see you. If you would like to learn more about the webinar, click here. To register, contact Ellie: eleanor@caplorhorizons.org. To access the book, click here. We would like to say a big thank you to Sharon (Turnbull), a Professor of Leadership and one of our Advisors, who will be leading the webinar. She was involved very heavily with the book, including as an author and member of the Editorial Team.

African Proverb: ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together’

Have a great day,

Rosie, Ellie, Lorna and Ian

Time for a change?

Time for a change? One of our advisors, James (Treasure-Evans), has recently updated our paper about ‘Theory of Change’. If a Theory of Change process is facilitated well, it can be very helpful in many ways. Click here to read the paper. Thank you, James!
 
Who has just become independent? Peter (Moore) is another one of our very long-term Advisors. As a specialist in Governance, he just completed a process of helping Ella’s to become an independent charity (previously they were a project within another organisation). Based in London, Ella’s provides long-term care for women affected by trafficking and sexual exploitation. Click here to visit their website; and here to read a testimonial. Peter is also very involved on Governance related work with Edmund Rice, another of our partners.
 
Something to add to your book collection!? We have the exciting launch for our first eBook at our upcoming webinar. This be held from 12 to 1:30pm BST/UK time on Friday 2nd October. You are very welcome! If you’d like to learn more about the webinar, click here. To register, contact Ellie: eleanor@caplorhorizons.org. To access the book, click onto the image below.

Dalai Lama quote: ‘the seeds of goodness are found in the soil of appreciation.’
 
Have a great day,
 
Rosie, Ellie, Lorna and Ian

Our new ebook - hot off the press!

To read the ebook, click here! We would love to hear your feedback and thoughts. Either click here to contact us, or join our webinar on Friday 2nd October. At the webinar we will dive into some of the key themes. The webinar is from 12 to 1:30pm BST/UK time. To learn more, click here. To register, click here. We hope to see you there!

Who is this book for? Whether you are a volunteer, entrepreneur, activist, founder, private/public/not-for-profit sector leader, if you care about creating a more humane organisation that can meet needs, better support your team, and in turn contribute to a better world, this book is for you.
 
The generation of the book has been one of the largest undertakings of Caplor Horizons to date!  It has been a genuinely collaborative, voluntary venture, showcasing the knowledge, experiences, interests and imagination of 20 individuals from Caplor Horizons.
 
We’re self-publishing and promoting it as widely as possible. Please feel very welcome to pass it on to anyone you feel might be interested.
 
Many thanks go to: our authors Ann (Alder), Vanessa (Fairhurst), Charles (Handy), Vicki (Howe), Clive (Hyland), Peter (Moore), Lynne (Sedgmore), John (White), Sharon (Turnbull) and Simon (Oldroyd); our designers Ben (Oldroyd) and Simon (Oldroyd); our critical friends Geoff (Cox), Kemal (Shaheen), Shivani (Singhal), Veronica (Golding-Fletcher) and Dan (Bishop); our proof reader Peter (Moore); our editorial team; and all others involved with our journey!

Margaret Mead quote: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has."

Have a great day!

Lorna, Ian, Rosie and Ellie

Why is trust like music!?

Why is trust like music!? According to Simon Sinek, running an organisation virtually is much more difficult compared to when face to face meetings are possible too. He focuses on trust and how this can be nurtured between formal meetings when people get together in person. Much like Isaac Stern, the violinist, who said "music is what happens between the notes", Simon believes that nothing can replace human contact. Watch his video below to learn more.

So what can be done? Working online has become increasingly important for so many people internationally. The key is to build trust online in whatever ways we can, realising the challenges involved. Also taking opportunities to meet face to face when it is safe to do so.
 
At Caplor Horizons we have found ways to use exercises like the Six Senses online that can help build teamworking, including trust, during sessions. Click here to read more. Also to find ways to socialise too (e.g. having catch up time before and after the main meeting for building relationships). Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you would like to hear more about what we have learnt, including clicking here to find out about our ‘Reaching New Horizons’ programme.

In other news, we have been supporting Emerging Leaders on a range of governance issues through Peter Moore’s dialogue with the Chair. The mission of Emerging Leaders is to ‘unlock human potential in vulnerable communities around the world by equipping people with the mindsets, motivations and skills to flourish’. Click here to learn about this UK-based NGO and click here to read a recent testimonial from the Chair.

Emerging Leaders is now expanding its Board and seeking new members. If you’re interested in considering this, click here for a description of the role, which includes contact details.

Finally, don't forget to sign up to our next webinar which will celebrate the launch of our new book - soon to be released!! It is on 2nd October at 12 to 1:30pm BST/UK time. To learn more, click here. To register, click here. We hope to see you there!

Stephen Covey Quote: "Without trust we don't truly collaborate; we merely coordinate or, at best, cooperate. It is trust that transforms a group of people into a team."

Have a great day!

Lorna, Ian, Rosie and Ellie

How can we be more effective change makers?

Something new?! Please join us – together with authors and others involved – for the launch of our new book. This is called ‘The Change Maker’s Guide to New Horizons: organising differently for Sustainable Futures’. 20 people in total have been engaged in a huge voluntary undertaking to create this book. Many thanks to everyone involved. Here is the cover of the book.

The launch will be in the form of our next webinar. It will be held on 2nd October at 12 to 1:30pm BST/UK time. To learn more, click here. To register, click here. We hope to see you there!
 
We recently featured our ‘Caplor Boat of Learning’. This has reference to the Five C’s of learning: ‘consciousness, creativity, critical curiosity, commitment and collaboration’. Click here to learn more. We would like to underscore our huge thanks to Deborah Wetherall for her inspiration. Deborah is a Paper Boat trustee and a member of Paper Boat’s new Strategic Education Community. Her unique and valuable contribution has been to adapt the language of the ‘5 C's of Learning’ into a more accessible format for use by children and young people, with the aim of enabling even the very youngest of learners to embark on a journey of effective lifelong learning.

In other news, thank you Denise (Mulligan) and Sue (Eames). We appreciate their important contributions in recent times to our capacity and strategy development work-stream with people from across Africa all of whom are involved with our long-term partners Edmund Rice.   
 
Coretta Scott King quote: “The greatness of a community is more accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members”

Have a great day!

Lorna, Ian, Rosie and Eleanor

What does a gender-balanced mindset involve?

We are pleased to share with you our recently updated Thought Leadership Paper: ‘Developing a Gender Balanced Mindset.’ This stems from a paper originally created by Usha (Ladwa-Thomas) and Sharon (Turnbull). It has been translated into Spanish and French to reach a wider audience: click here for English; here for Spanish; here for French. The paper includes feminist principles as follows…

We’re pleased to be one of a growing number committed to the ‘Fairshare of Women Leaders’ movement. This encourages organisations to achieve a fair share of women leaders by 2030. To join or find out more click here.

Thank you to David (Coates), one of our Advisors, who is currently leading on a major piece of analysis. He is assessing a very considerable amount of research from over 30 conversations, a survey and 6 events with members of the Lasallian Network. We’re facilitating a two-year programme of capacity development to help bring about a deepening of collaborative working and culture.
 
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka (Executive Director, UN Women) quote: “Let us try and position women in strategic leadership so they’re inside the rooms where decisions are being made; and trust them to make the right decisions for all of us - let’s just get them inside that door.”

Have a great day!

Lorna, Ian, Rosie and Eleanor

How can you reach new horizons?

How can you reach new horizons? We all need to consider new horizons during these remarkable Covid-19 times. We are finding that a practical three-step approach seems very relevant for individuals and teams along with organisations more widely. This can be tailored to specific circumstances.
 
The three steps address these questions. What have we learnt? What are our ‘new horizons’? How will we get there? Please get in touch if you would like to explore how we might facilitate this. To read more about our ‘Reaching New Horizons’ programme, click here. To read about our online services more widely, click here.

For instance, we are currently collaborating with Haygrove – an international horticultural business and long-term partner – to facilitate a programme to transform their approach to sales. This is in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and very major shifts in the operating environment – notably a revolution in online engagement with customers. It will take place online with a team of 25 people in multiple countries. It is designed around the Reaching New Horizons programme.
 
Mentoring. A recent short piece from the BBC was called: ‘The Power of Mentoring’. It showcases how valuable and transformative mentoring can be on someone’s life. To watch it, click here.
 
At any one point in time, various Advisors are involved with mentoring activities. For instance, many thanks to Lynne (Sedgmore), Matthew (Lake), Iain (Patton) and Dan (Bishop) for current workstreams that they are involved with.
 
Diane Olin quote: “mentoring isn’t an extracurricular activity. It’s vital for cultivating an enriching, inclusive community”
 
Have a great day!

Lorna, Ian, Rosie and Ellie